Truitjieskraal has been closed for more than 2 years. The veld has recovered and the fire was nowhere near the climbing area. I think the MCSA should take up the matter and put pressure on Nature Conservation to reopen the area.

Firstly I wish you boys and girls wouldn't use alias's on this forum - imagine having a phone conversation with someone without knowing who you were talking to?

Secondly the MCSA has been putting Cape Nature under pressure to open Truitjieskraal - unfortunetly the biology committee walked it down and deemed some important veges to be too small still - they are worried us blundering climbers in our Koflachs will stomp all over them....... pity.......

andy, can you give us a bit more specifics about what the MCSA has done and where we are at in terms of process? has cape nature agreed to review this closure again on a specific date? can we write to someone? i personally feel we climbers take "no" far too often as an answer. we climbers have rights too. in other places around the world closures happen regularly. then the local "MCSAs" become really far more vocal. for example, there's a climbing area close to Los Angeles called Williamson Rock that is currently closed to protect some yellow frog. the local climbing community is encouraging everyone to write to the US Senators that represent California in Washington, D.C. to get this decision overturned. Check out http://williamsonrock.org/
We too could write to whoever at the Western Cape Provincial Government that Cape Nature reports to saying that we don't agree with their decision. This is the year 2008 and democracy and free speech are alive and well in SA.

Not quite the right time of year for Cedarburg tho, in this heat shoooo! Sheesa. Looking forward to getting back there again though. Aliases are cool Andy, you should get a nick so you dont feel spare bru.

Andy, I am with you. It is fine if you use a name like Flex does. Because Flex is Flex (a given nick name). But hell, lets go to CNC and tell them: "XMOD, nosmo, Pea1nut, maximus & drifter:D all want access to [your] roks, ek sê!"

Oh, and Robert!?

This is the year 2008 and democracy and free speech are alive and well in SA.

People I have personally spoken to the ranger in charge of Truitjieskraal a couple of times and have challenged the decision to close this area. I was informed that on two occasions, an ecological committee walked this area down and stated that they were concerned that some sensitive plant species may be damaged by climbers. They do a 3 monthly check and believe this area can be opened for 2009 Autumn. They also confirmed that the ecological committee is comprised solely of Cape Nature staff and consultants and are NOT being influenced by local farmer's commercial interests. As much as I would like to go to Truitjies myself, I believe we should just sit this one out and maintain the current relationship with CN. If we give them a lot of uphill, other access issues may be more difficult to address. If it was a permanent closure I would agree with challenging them in a more aggressive manner.

Andy, would be great if you could get the autumn 2009 date in writing. and quote them on it this time next year. good terms with CapeNature is all fine and dandy, but "stringing people along forever" is the game they seem to have been playing.

CapeNature have the primary responsibility to do the right thing for the ecology of the area. They will usually defer to specialist groups like those who have asked the area to remain free from human impact for a while. Although I'd also like to go climbing there again, I do understand that even if they're wrong about the impact climbers have they need to play it safe.

It's a pain, but I appreciate what they're trying to do.

Fire is happening far too frequently in this area. Hardly a year goes by without some major conflagration. Last season it was the whole valley that went up in flames (again), burning as high as Tafelberg. Most of these fires are started by humans. My concern is that CapeNature are not addressing the causes of these fires, which is often carelessness on the part of locals and workmen in the area.

Case in point: a while ago we were in that valley (just before the last fire) and there was a road crew doing routine road maintenance. They had a fire going in a barrel, for whatever reason. It was blazing merrily, with a howling wind blowing sparks all over the veld. The road crew were happily sleeping in the shade next to their vehicle, while embers blew out over the fynbos. Unbelievable!

Another year I was told by the people at Kromrivier farm that a fire had been started by technicians working on an electrical installation next to the road.

My point is, we need to make CapeNature aware of these things. They can then educate the farmers/workmen/contractors. Fewer fires, fewer closures. Everyone wins, including the ecology of this awesome area.

Andy
In Nov 2008 you wrote about the validity of a more aggressive challenge....it is beginning to feel like "permanent" if nobody can actually be accountable and state in black and white what the exact issues are..............and whilst they worry about the recovery status of some plant species behind a distant rock out there at Truitjies they have lost the entire battle to contain the rooikrans forests which bloom so successfully all over the southern peninsula conservation areas

andy, who is this person at capenature that said winter09. publish their phone # here so we can call them on their promise.
we as south africans own this land. this is not private land like lost world. capenature are just our administrators, our taxes pay their salaries. time they delivered the goods.

I may be wrong here but as far as I know CN are no longer a state body, but rather a private company... I do know that they no longer recieve any money from the province or the state which is why gate fees have gone up so drastically in the last while.

Hear hear! Agreed Robert, time to crack a whip! Truitjies is public land not private, totally different case. Even if CN are privately run they are custodians of public lands, not landowners. Whilst they must strive to protect the environment they also have to allow access.

Surely three years is enough for plants to re-generate?? Do we even know if the climbing areas were affected by the fire at all? What measures have been put in place to formalise paths in this area and Rocklands (ie keep ppl from wandering over the precious plants) - answer none! If there was a formalised path network, as is called for repeatedly in the Cedarberg climbing Management plan, there wouldnt be a conflict between plant re-generation and public access. CN need to pull their fingers big time here, this is total BS, they basically just arent doing their job.

CapeNature announces re-opening of popular Cederberg tourist hotspot, 27 March 2009
Today, at an event hosted in Jonkershoek Nature Reserve by CapeNature and Cape Town Routes Unlimited (CTRU) Sheraaz Ismail, CapeNature’s Director of Business Development, has confirmed that almost all tourism facilities managed by CapeNature situated in the mysterious and beautiful Cederberg Mountains are once again open for visitors - following two months of closure after a recent fire.
“Thanks to a financial injection of R2.5 million from the Department of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, CapeNature was able to use a portion of that funding to restore the damaged infrastructure – visitors are once again welcome to visit a number of self-catering cottages, the Algeria campsite or camp in the Wilderness Area.” Ismail said.

Ismail explained that a fire in February this year has destroyed the old CapeNature office as well as the gatehouse preventing access to the campsite and other facilities.

“The 71 000 ha Cederberg Nature reserve is one of CapeNature’s most popular among both local and international visitors. The adjacent 12 000 ha Matjiesrivier nature reserve (also managed by CapeNature) is renowned for its majestic sandstone formations. The most popular include the Stadsaal Caves, Wolfberg Arch and the Maltese cross, but basically the whole place is one stupendous rock formation offering visitors a unique adventure experience and an opportunity to see ancient art forms from our first peoples” Ismail continued to say.

Calvyn Gilfellan, CEO of Cape Town Routes Unlimited added: “Most visitors to Cape Town and the Western Cape say the same thing: ‘Wow, it’s beautiful!’ In a recent AC Nielsen survey on the Western Cape as a travel destination conducted amongst domestic travellers, a staggering 51.9% of the respondents described the region as ‘beautiful’. Paris may have its romance, New York may buzz, Rio de Janeiro may be one long carnival, but the one thing that all visitors to our Province respond to, is her breathtaking beauty."

“Specifically in international destination marketing you need a bragging factor: one single characteristic or message that sets your brand apart from the others. For Cape Town and the Western Cape it is our destination’s scenic beauty. This is our marketing currency.

“For this reason it is absolutely imperative that in looking after brand Cape Town and the Western Cape, its diverse floral kingdom and natural treasures are protected and sustained. The recent fires were a harsh reminder of the need for everyone to take action. Although not on the scale of the wild fires which devastated parts of Australia, the recent fires especially in the Boland Mountain range have provoked concerned calls from tourism agencies internationally.

“Together with CapeNature, Cape Town Routes Unlimited is committed to finding solutions so that we can truly 'Keep the Cape Beautiful'. There is no doubt that visitors to the Western Cape enjoy its splendour, and that this is a major driver for encouraging them to return to what is a long haul destination for foreign visitors. Tourism and the protection of the brand bring much needed capital and foreign currency into the region. The growth of the tourism industry is, and will be in the future, a primary driver in the growth of sustainable jobs and business opportunities for the people of this Province."